Phase 1: Determine Need for an Accommodation

Is employee a "qualified individual with a disability?"
To be eligible for a mandatory workplace accommodation, a person must meet criteria established by the Americans with Disabilities Act. A person is considered to have a "disability" if s/he has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits* one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. An individual with a disability must also be qualified to perform the essential functions of the job with or without an accommodation.

*Note: As of January, 2001 a new California state law (A.B. 2222) goes into effect that goes beyond the federal ADA provisions in several areas. Some of the California law's key provisions: It will make it easier for employees to claim they have a disability by defining it as a problem that "limits" a major life activity, rather than one that "substantially limits" an activity, which is the definition under the federal law. A disability is considered to limit a major life activity if it makes its achievement "difficult". Major life activity is broadly construed to include physical, mental and social activities and working. Unlike the ADA, the California law will not allow an employer to consider mitigating measures in determining whether an employee is disabled. For instance, an employee whose epilepsy is controlled by medication would be considered disabled under state law, but not under federal law. When a disabled employee or applicant requests an accommodation, the state law will require the employer to engage in an "interactive process" in response to avoid liability. It adds new prohibitions to state law with respect to pre-employment disability-related inquiries and testing. For example, it will be illegal for California employers to require any pre-employment medical or psychological exam unless it is job-related and consistent with business necessity, and all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same exam.

Process Starts when Employee Requests an Accommodation
The accommodation process is initiated when an employee makes a request for a workplace accommodation. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency charged with enforcing the ADA, an accommodation request does not have to be in writing. However, the EEOC suggests that individuals with disabilities might find it useful to document accommodation requests in the event there is a dispute about whether or when they requested accommodation. A written request protects the interests of both the employee and the employer.

The ADA does not include specific guidelines or forms for requesting reasonable accommodation and does not require specific language. It is recommended that each employer develop their own standard form for employees to use when requesting an accommodation. See Workplace Accommodation Request for an example of an accommodation request form. Please note that this sample is to be used as a guide only and is not legal advice. If legal advice is needed, the employer should seek legal counsel.

The Workplace Accommodation Request form (pdf) is divided into two sections:

Part A: completed by the employee to provide the following information:

• State reason for the request
• Lists tasks on job description that are problematic as a result of disability
• Lists accommodation(s) that will enable employee to perform job-related tasks
• Medical documentation -- whether or not the employee’s disability is visible and obvious, s/he may be asked to provide medical documentation that describes the disability and functional limitations, as these facts relate to the performance of job duties. For example, an employee who uses a wheelchair has an obvious disability, but the employer may want to know what other functional abilities/limitations the employee has that may not be obvious.

Part B: completed by the employer to document responsive action

1. Meeting to Discuss Request
Upon receipt of the employee’s request for an accommodation, the employer must respond in a timely manner. Part B of the Workplace Accommodation Request form (pdf) can be used to schedule the meeting and then to document the meeting outcomes.

The goal of the meeting is to determine whether the employee is a "qualified individual with a disability" (per ADA definition) and then decide on next steps for finding an appropriate accommodation. Key considerations to be discussed include the demands of the job, the employee’s skills and functional abilities, available technology, and costs.

2. Meeting Attendees
Meeting participants should include the employee making the request, his/her supervisor, and possibly a rehabilitation professional if needed. Other staff members with expertise in potential areas of accommodation may also attend, for example:

• Facility Manager to address facility modifications or acquisition of special equipment
• Computer Specialist to address acquisition of computer software or hardware
• Human Resources Manager to address job restructuring, modified work schedule, or medical leave
• Accommodation Specialist staff member with training in assistive technology and/or other forms of workplace accommodation

3. Determine Employee Qualifications to Perform Essential Job Functions
The meeting should include a discussion of the employee’s qualifications to perform each essential job function with or without an accommodation. This list should be compared to the list of problematic tasks provided by the employee in Part A to determine if the task list should be revised. Note: If the essential job functions have not been identified, the employer should conduct a Job Analysis.

4. Next Steps
Decisions reached and next steps should be documented. Next steps may include:

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